The United Illuminating Company (UI): A Utility Serving New Haven, Bridgeport and Coastal Areas of CT

  • Written By: Kelly Bedrich

  • Headquartered in Orange, Connecticut, The United Illuminating Company (UI) handles electricity transmission and distribution for southern areas of Connecticut. That includes electricity in Bridgeport, Stamford and New Haven. There are competitive suppliers available in United Illuminating. Just enter your zip code to shop for an alternative competitive supplier in your area.

    UI is a subsidiary of Avangrid (NYSE: AGR) and is the smaller of Connecticut’s two electric utilities. If you would like to enroll on the United Illuminating default service rate, contract United Illuminating customer service at 800-722-5584. This page is for information purposes and ElectricityPlans.com is not affiliated with the utility.

    United Illuminating Current Residential Rates (Standard Service)

    United Illuminating offers a standard service rate for generation to customers who choose to remain with the utility and not choose an alternative generation supplier. The standard service rate changes every six months, January 1st and July 1st.

    Below are current generation rates for UI. Compare utility standard service rates versus competitive supplier offers by shopping for electricity.

    There are two rates for residential customers: Rate R and Rate RT. Most customers are on Rate R.

    • Rate R is a constant rate regardless of the time of day electricity is used.
    • Rate RT is a time of use rate with one rate for on peak usage 12pm – 8pm and one rate for off peak usage 8pm – 12pm and weekends.
    United Illuminating Rate ClassJanuary 1 - June 30, 2022
    Generation Supply
    Rate ¢/kwh
    July 1 - December 31, 2022
    Generation Supply
    Rate ¢/kwh
    January 1 - June 30, 2023
    Generation Supply
    Rate ¢/kwh
    July 1 - December 31, 2023
    Generation Supply ¢/kWh
    January 1 - June 30, 2024 Generation Supply Rate ¢/kWh
    Rate R10.6731¢10.62¢21.9429¢14.3344¢17.0625¢
    Rate RT On-Peak13.2310¢13.1779¢24.4362¢16.8674¢19.7257¢
    Rate RT Off-Peak9.7310¢9.6779¢20.9362¢13.3674¢16.2257¢

    Because of the rate fluctuations and the unknown, some consumers have decided to shop for an electricity provider and lock in a fixed rate. That’s a smart idea.

    Shop for an Alternative Electricity Supplier

    When you switch to an alternative electricity supplier, you can lock in a fixed rate for your electricity. This offers security and peace of mind. Ready to shop now for your alternative electricity supplier? All you need is a copy of your bill (for your account information) and your zip code.

    Residential Electricity Rates in CT – United Illuminating

    Plan Name Term Rate/kWh
    Constellation 6 Month Home Power Plan 6 8.99 ¢
    Constellation 12 Month Home Power Plan 12 12.19 ¢
    Direct Energy Live Brighter 18 18 12.39 ¢
    Constellation 24 Month Home Power Plan 24 12.79 ¢
    Constellation 36 Month Home Power Plan 36 12.99 ¢

    Shop UI Connecticut Electricity Rates Near You

    Business owners in the UI market can also shop for their electricity.

    Want to learn more? Read our article on How to Shop for an Electricity Supplier in CT.

    FAQs About United Illuminating (UI)

    When was United Illuminating founded?

    UI CT’s history began in 1881 with several small lighting companies and was formally established as The United Illuminating Company in 1899. In 2000, UI became a subsidiary of UIL Holdings Corporation to hold regulated and related non-regulated businesses. In 2010, UIL and Iderdrola merged and purchased several local gas providers in Connecticut. Today, the UIL/Iderdrola merger is known as Avangrid and is the parent company of UI.

    What areas of Connecticut are served by United Illuminating?

    UI serves 17 Connecticut towns covering 335 square miles along Connecticut’s shoreline. The cities that UI serves includes Bridgeport, New Haven, and Milford.

    What percentage of United Illuminating customers have switched to an electricity supplier?

    According to PURA, 83% of United Illuminating customers are served by competitive suppliers as of November 2022. With UI’s utility rates increasing 100% in January 2023, experts expect more people will shop for CT electricity.

    Utility Highlights

    Efficiency and careful stewardship of electricity resources are central to the philosophy of UI. The electricity utility is making huge strides toward sustainability and social responsibility in all areas of their operation, and for all types of Connecticut residential and business customers.

    At UI, sustainability at the heart of everything, from electricity generation to community projects and even choices made about upgrades and changes to the electric infrastructure. In addition, UI helps to administer the Energy Efficiency Fund, an Energize Connecticut partner. UI is improving its efficiency by investing in technology and learning better ways of using its existing equipment.

    Here are a few ways this Connecticut utility is reaching out to the community to increase sustainability over a wider area and provide excellent customer service:

    • Increasing education about distributed generation. UI is encouraging local customers to connect their own forms of electricity generation to reduce their reliance on the grid. By educating customers on the ways that solar, wind, fuel cell and micro turbines can help reduce their power costs and support the power infrastructure at the same time, this utility is making it easier for people to decrease their dependency on the electric grid.
    • Electric vehicle infrastructure. Working with both state and local government, UI is streamlining the integration of electric cars into the state of Connecticut. It’s not enough to have electric cars, you also have to have somewhere to charge them—and that’s something UI is building.
    • Outage alerts. UI provides extensive outage alert services , including a real-time online outage map, messaging alerts, and online education resources to help customers prepare for storms and other emergencies.

    Coastal areas of Connecticut served by UI can rest assured that they are receiving great utility service and reliability from a relatively small but experienced utility focused on sustainability.

    Customers living in areas of Connecticut served by UI can select an alternative energy supplier and get excellent CT electric rates. United Illuminating will continue to serve customers as the local utility and bill customers in the same manner without interruption in service.

    About Kelly Bedrich

    Kelly Bedrich co-founded ElectricityPlans in 2016 with the goal of simplifying the complicated process of buying energy. As president and chief technology officer, Kelly keeps our development team focused on providing a user-friendly website. When not reading the latest on technology and finance, Kelly enjoys celebrating Taco Tuesday, listening to live music at local venues, and hiking.

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